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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. race — a contest
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. race — the arms race
  5. cap — a hat
  6. race — humankind
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. cap — of ice
  10. game — a match
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. cell — a phone
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cap — a lid
  16. degree — an amount
  17. game — wild animals
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com